David Tanner
University of Florida, FL·Physics
Most of the matter in the Universe is invisible "dark matter" made of unknown particles, and the faint ripples in space-time called gravitational waves carry news of colliding black holes and neutron stars. Both are hard to detect, and both searches depend on extremely precise lasers and optics.
- Fields
Physics
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Engineering
- Topics
dark matter
axions
axion-like particles
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through Aug 2027
What they work on
- Complete commissioning of ALPS II and analyze its first science runs, which search for photons converting into axion-like particles or hidden photons that pass through a light-tight wall inside strong HERA dipole magnets.
- Use high-power optical cavities, mirror pairs that build up light to about 1 MW, to boost both photon conversion and photon re-creation in a model-independent search for low-mass dark-matter candidates.
- Improve LIGO's Input Optics by developing high-power, low-loss Faraday isolators, which block back-reflected light, along with better laser beam modulation and improved simulations of the mirror suspensions.
- Lay groundwork for third-generation gravitational-wave detectors by studying modulators and isolators at wavelengths longer than 1064 nm and analyzing impurities in silicon, a candidate mirror material for cryogenic detectors.
- Characterize a single-frequency non-planar ring oscillator laser that operates at 2.1 μm and can be tuned over GHz of frequency, for use in future detectors.
More about the research
This group builds and improves that optical hardware for two experiments: a laboratory search for new light particles that could make up dark matter, and the LIGO gravitational-wave detectors, along with the research needed for future detectors.
Why it matters
A detection by ALPS II would reveal what dark matter is made of, answering one of the largest open questions in physics. More sensitive LIGO detectors would record more black hole and neutron star mergers, and record them more clearly. Some of the hardware has uses outside physics. High-power optical isolators could serve the laser and optics industries. A tunable single-frequency 2.1 μm laser could support many kinds of precision measurement.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Kuver Sinha
University of Oklahoma, OK·Physics
Constrain axions using neutron stars by combining X-ray polarization data and models of hard X-ray emission from magnetars with the group's framework for axion-induced polarization in dipolar magnetic fields.
Wolfgang Tichy
Florida Atlantic University, FL·Astronomy & Astrophysics
Simulate binary neutron star mergers containing dark matter across a range of dark matter fractions, particle masses, mass ratios and spins with the BAM code, to set limits on dark matter in neutron stars.
Karan Jani
Vanderbilt University, TN·Astronomy & Astrophysics·Early-career
Establish a framework for multiband, multi-messenger observation of intermediate-mass black holes and binary neutron star mergers in the 0.1–10 Hz band that LIGO and LISA cannot reach, to guide next-generation gravitational-wave detectors.
The school
University of Florida: 65 labs on PI Pages, $1.3B a year on research, 795 research doctorates a year.
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